William A. Johnson Jr. facts for kids

William A. Johnson Jr. (born August 22, 1942) is an American politician. He served as the 64th Mayor of Rochester, New York. He was the first African-American mayor in the city's history.

Early Life and Education

William Johnson grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia. He went to Howard University. There, he earned two degrees in Political Science. He got his first degree in 1965 and his second in 1967. After college, he moved to Flint, Michigan. He worked at Mott Community College and the Flint Urban League. In 1972, he moved to Rochester, New York with his wife, Sylvia Andrews McCoy Johnson.

Career Before Becoming Mayor

Before becoming mayor, Mr. Johnson worked for 21 years. He was the President and CEO of the Urban League of Rochester. This organization helps people in the community. He was in charge of many programs. These programs helped with education, youth development, and family services. They also offered job training and helped people find affordable homes. Under his leadership, the Urban League grew. It offered more programs to help the community.

Serving as Mayor of Rochester

William Johnson first ran for Mayor of Rochester in 1993. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He won the primary election against two other candidates. In the main election, he won with over 72 percent of the votes. He took over from Thomas Ryan, who had been mayor for 20 years. Mr. Johnson made history as Rochester's first African-American mayor.

He was re-elected in 1997 without anyone running against him. In 2001, he was re-elected for a third term. He won with over 78 percent of the votes. During that campaign, he announced he would not run for a fourth term.

Challenges and New Ideas as Mayor

As mayor, Johnson faced several big challenges. Rochester's population was shrinking. The city had less tax money coming in. More people needed social services. There was also a high crime rate. Despite these issues, he was known for taking chances to improve the city.

He started many new programs. The Neighbors Building Neighborhoods Program let citizens help plan their communities. He also created Neighborhood Empowerment Teams. These teams worked with the Rochester Police Department. They helped citizens share their ideas about policing. This encouraged police and residents to work together.

In 1998, the city started the Rochester 2010 Plan. This was a long-term plan for the city's future. It was based on ideas from residents. In 2002, the city's building rules were updated. The Rochester International Jazz Festival also started in 2002. Mayor Johnson supported this festival. Rochester's money situation stayed strong while he was mayor. This was true even with less tax money.

Projects with Mixed Results

Not all projects Mayor Johnson supported were successful. He strongly supported the Spirit of Ontario I fast ferry. This ferry was meant to travel between Rochester and Toronto. It started in 2004 but had many problems. It often stopped service and lost a lot of money. The ferry's terminal building in Charlotte was named after Johnson in 2018. Some people saw this as a bad reminder of the ferry's failure. Also, despite city investments, Rochester did not attract many new businesses during his time.

Awards and Retirement

In 1999, Governing Magazine named Johnson the United States' Local Public Official of the Year. In 2004, he was a finalist for the World Mayor Prize.

Johnson retired as mayor in 2005. He then became a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. His successor, Robert Duffy, changed many of the programs Johnson had started. The ferry was shut down in 2006. Programs for citizen involvement were also stopped. Community policing was replaced with a different police strategy.

Other Political Efforts

In 2003, Johnson ran for Monroe County Executive. He wanted to improve the county's money situation. He also wanted to encourage cooperation between different areas. He did not win this election.

In 2011, Rochester had a difficult time. The city had three different mayors in three weeks. This was unusual because there had only been three mayors in the previous 37 years. Johnson decided to run for mayor again in a special election. He wanted to finish the term of Robert Duffy, who had resigned. Johnson ran as a candidate for the Independence Party of New York and Working Families Party. He lost to Thomas Richards. However, Johnson received more votes than any previous candidate in New York State on the Working Family Party's ticket.